ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

We demonstrate our commitment to environmental sustainability in the way we conduct our day-to-day operations, including buildings and facilities management.

Our commitment to Living SMART™ includes being environmentally responsible.

Sustaining a Healthy Planet

At Astellas Americas, we report our energy, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, water and waste data up through our corporate headquarters in Japan. The company's annual update for 2015 is available here, and will be updated with 2016 data later this year.

Our Footprint at our U.S. Headquarters

Healthy buildings lead to a healthy work environment. We are proud that our headquarters in Northbrook, Illinois earned the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) Gold certification in 2012. Agensys, our Santa Monica-based affiliate, earned the LEED Silver certification in 2013 for its building’s sustainability features. LEED, administered by the U.S. Green Building Council, is the national standard for responsible and “green“ buildings.

Green Initiatives at Northbrook

We recognize that it’s not just the big efforts that make an impact, but the small efforts, too. For example, at our headquarters campus:

Our janitorial staff uses green cleaning products only

We purchase the paper products used in our washrooms and our cafeteria locally

We provide preferred parking for 120 low-emitting and electric vehicles, and we are excited to see the number of requests increasing every year

We only offer reusable glass carafes through the building’s food services program that reduces plastic-bottled water consumption by 80,000 bottles a year

The building operates more efficiently than others because of important green features like our geothermal HVAC system, low-flow and high-efficiency plumbing fixtures, stormwater management system for landscaping and efficient roofing

Our employees are an important part of making our headquarters a healthy and “green” place to work. In 2016, our employees logged more than 6,000 miles commuting by bike over 272 trips. In doing so, they helped avoid using 301 gallons of fuel.

What's New

Every year, we work to build on our success in managing our operational impacts and serving as responsible environmental stewards. Some of our latest environmental initiatives include:

In 2017, we will be rolling out additional hybrid options for our sales fleet vehicles to further lower our carbon footprint.

Earth Day: Bringing Living SMART™ to Life

In April, about 20 Astellas employees spent Earth Day weeding, raking debris, removing dead foliage, adding mulch with wood chips and planting pansies at the Chicago Botanic Garden (CBG), an Astellas USA Foundation partner in Highland Park, Illinois. In three hours, the team completed what a CBG official estimated would have taken their staff about 1.5 days to complete.

“The Astellas teams were amazing and we are so very appreciative for their tremendous support,” said Judy Cashen, director of volunteer administration and engagement at CBG.

A few miles away at the CBG’s Lake County Youth Farm, 17 other Astellas volunteers worked through nasty weather to remove pesky weeds, transport and rake more than 300 loads of compost, rehang the Farm’s sign that was a victim of a spring storm and plant an entire bed of Swiss chard.

Employees from the headquarters for the Americas in Northbrook, Illinois celebrated Earth Day by volunteering at the Chicago Botanic Garden.

Separately, at our Northbrook headquarters, Astellas held a collection event for recycling obsolete electronics and of gently used items for reuse to give a second life to sporting equipment, toys, clothing, books and many other items. Employees donated more than two tons of items for recycling that resulted in savings of oil, gasoline and trees while protecting the environment from toxic materials.

Finally, in California, Agensys employees conducted a week-long “spring cleaning” effort through which they donated more than 650 articles of clothing and household items to Meet Each Need with Dignity, an organization with a mission to help people break the bonds of poverty by providing basic human needs and a pathway to self-reliance.

Environmental Sustainability Rankings

In 2016, we were proud to again be recognized in these industry-leading indices: